William bourke



W. BOURKE. LAMP BURNER.

(No Model.)

Patented Mar. 2'

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM BOURKE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES F. MCGUIRE, OF SAME PLACE.

LAM P-BURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,090, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed August 5, 1896- Serial No. 601,711. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BOURKE,a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp-Burners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lamp-burners; and it consists in constructing a burner mechanism so as to permit the wick being burned from its side edge instead of from the end or side, as is the usual practice in lamp-burner construction, and the object being to prevent the flame from becoming excessively high, so as to cause smoking, and also so as to require no trimming of the wick, as is characteristic of the use of wicks in the ordinary style of lamp-burners.

My invention mainly consists in constructing the wick-tube of the burner in the shape of a horseshoe or inverted letter U with the edges thereof arranged in substantially the same plane and the sides being substantially parallel thereto, that is, so as to guide a fiat Wick around. in a curved path to and from the oil-fount, and so that one of the edges of the wick may be adapted to be burned at a combustion-opening in the upper outer edge of the wick-tube, across which the wick is moved by the wick-moving mechanism inter niittently in new positions successively as the wick is moved into proper position by the wick-moving device when required.

The advantages of burning a wick that is of the flat order upon its edge instead of on its end or side consist in the avoidance of the forced with some non-combustible substance attached to it for the purpose.-

The advantages of using a fiat wick in this way, as compared with a round, square, or other more condensed form of wick, consist in better shown. transverse sections of the Wick-tube mechanthe fact that a flat wick has a relatively larger surface exposed to the oil or other illuminant being used and which facilitates the capillary supply of the oil to the point of combustion, and also in that the shape of the fiat wick more completely coincides with the shape of a flame that gives the largest area of illumination and at the same time uses the least quantity of oil, and which shape also admits of supplying the air most effectively to the flame for its more effective combustion and intensity of illumination.

The nature and objects of my invention will be more fully explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and from what is hereinafter set forth and as will be more especially pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a lamp provided with my improvement and which is of the class more especially adapted to use in lanterns and for bicycle or similar purposes of illumination. Fig. 2 represents a Vertical sectional view of Fig. 1, with the base, air-distributer, and airdeflector mechanisms being omitted for purposes of clearness of illustration, that the wick-tube and extinguisher devices may be more readily understood, and the oil-chamber being in section that the movements given to the wick with relation to the same may be Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent ism in Fig. 2 and upon the lines a b, c d, and

e f, respectively. Fig. 6 represents my improved tube mchanism as applied to an ordinary house-lamp burner, such as is secured to the lamp by means of a threaded neck, which is adapted to fit in a correspondinglythreaded collar in the well-known manner of ordinary. lamp construction. In this figure, which is. shown partly in vertical section, the air-deflector is represented by dotted lines only, that the shape of the wick-tube mechanism may be better seen and understood, and this figure also shows by the dotted circle an arrangement of a friction-wheel that can be applied to the Wick-tube when it is desirable to minimize the friction of the wick in its movement through the tube.

' In the drawings, in which similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, A represents a tube of a shape in crosssection corresponding to that of the wick to be employed and which in the drawings is intended to be as shown in the several sectional views as illustrated. The tube A is of a horseshoe or U shape, with its ends A A opening into the oil-chamber B, and which may be secured directly thereto by brazing or soldering, as indicated in Fig. or else by being secured to the burner in the usual way, (by riveting or the like.) as shown in Fig. 6. The top and outer surface of the tube A are removed, so as to leave the combustion slit or opening A and of a shape corresponding to the thickness of the wick O and the length of the flame desired. (See Fig. 3.) This opening or slit A may be of any desired shape to suit the shape of the wick and the oil-feeding capacity thereof and to give the best proportioned flame.

D represents the wick-moving wheel, mounted upon the shaft D, having the th Limb-wheel D and being journa-led in bearing D which is secured to the top of the lamp-chamber A, and its outer bearing being in the base E of the burner mechanism, which is suitably shaped at E for the purpose. In Fig. 6 the wick-moving shaft D is journaled in bearings D D which are secured directly to the side A of the wick-tube A.

An opening F in the tube A permits the wheel D to come in contact with the Wick G, and thereby control its movements. An extinguisher H is made to straddle the tube A from its inner edge outwardly and upwardly, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the movements of which are controlled by a lever H, which is pivoted to the tube A by means of the pivot H The inner end H has a loose pivot connection H with the lower end H of the extinguisher H, by which motion is imparted to the extinguisher I'I vertically, and the natural spring of the parts of the extinguisher together gives a tight but frictional contact with the tube, while guides H H control its movements in a straight direction upwardly and downwardly each side of the combustion-opening A In Fig. 6 the dotted circle I indicates a friction-wheel that may be arranged within the tube to minimize the friction of the wick therethrough, if desired. Then the device is made in this way, the side walls of the tube A could extend so as to inclose the wheel I, as inclicated at I, and in which the wheel would be provided with an axis, as indicated at 1 The operation of my improved burner will now be explained.

The wick may be of any desirable material having the requisite capillary attractive properties sufficient to convey the oil or other illuminant used to the point of combustion, and which, in the case of the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be inserted through the opening A and one end of the wick G being inserted through each leg of the tube A, as indicated in Fig. 2.

hen the burner is made detachable from the lamp, as shown in Fig. 6, the wick can be inserted in the tube from one end and passed therethrough to the other end until it can be controlled by the feed-wheel D in the usual way. In fitting a burner of this character with a wick it is desirable to have the latter as long as possible, that the renewal of the wick may be as infrequent as can be, and in the use of lantern-lamps that the oil may be prevented from undue agitation to attain a more uniform degree of illumination, and which is effected by reason of the relatively large amount of absorbent material which the wick supplies.

It is usual to construct lamps with compartments Within the oil-chamber for the retention of an absorbent substance, such as cotton-wool or the like, so I prefer to make the wick itself answer this purpose, especially as a long wick is otherwise advantageous for use.

By reason of the form of construction of the wick-tube which I have shown and described only a small portion of the edge of the wick is exposed beyond the edges of the tube A, and therefore the wick cannot be raised too high, as in ordinary lamps. The dimensions of the combustion-opening A are at the outset made so as to allow the wick G to burn with a maximum degree of efficiency without smoking, and it is impossible for the wick to project farther out than what may be its established path in passing around through the tube. It can, however, be so manipulated by means of the extinguisher H as to cause it to burn with any degree of illumination from the maximum down to the point of extinguishment. When a wick has been in use for some time, however, it loses its power of illumination at the point of combustion by reason of it becoming charred and its power of absorbing the oil thereto being diminished. In this case it is customary to trim off the ordinary lamp-wick so as to bring a clean fresh portion for ignition and the continued combustion of the illuminant when the regular style of burner is used. This operation of trimming is uncertain as to the accuracy of doing it properly, and unclean and disagreeable in doing as well. Now in case a lamp providedwith my improvement needs attention of this character it is only necessary to manipulate the wick-feeding wheel D by means of its thumb-wheel D so as to bring a fresh portion of the wick into combustion-opening or in corresponding position therewith, and the effect will be the same as though it had been freshly trimmed, and with the effect that the wick is in exact degree of the best illuminating capacity, and the operation being only the work of an instant. As the wick becomes used the charred or used portion goes down into the oil-chamber again and continues to be a source of capillary oil-supply (that is, the uncharred portion) to the point of combustion, as well as the portion in the other leg of the tube that has not yet been used at all. After a wick has been used up entirely upon one edge or side it can then be reversed in the tube and the other side or edge used again, as before, only that on account of the partial diminution in the width of the wick, by reason of what has been charred or burned off, the wick would not be liable to press outwardly against the combustion-opening were it not for the efiect of the tension of tension-spring device J, which would make up for any reduction of the width of the wick after it has been used once upon its full length of edge or side, as the case might be.

When aburner is made with my improvement and as indicated in the form of construction shown in Fig. 6, and being provided with the friction-wheel I, therein .indicated by the dotted lines, not only is a minimum degree of wick friction through the tube attained, but also if the periphery of the wheel be made of an elastic material or construction a spring-tension upon the wick may also be effected.

As a result of my method of designing a burner mechanism and using a wick therein I am enabled to have a maximum degree of light without making the flame of excessive proportions, and thereby preventing any possibility of smoking the lamp or lantern; a wick does not require any trimming off, as is ordinarily done with common lamps in which the wick burns from the end, the charred portions of the wick are partially scraped off by the edge of the tube at the end of the combustion-slit toward which the wick is drawn in manipulating the feed-wheel, the wick cannot drop down byjarring or the like, as is the case with the common lamps,

lamp-chamber. It can also be seen that I can use a wick of any size as to its cross-section dimensions, and that the principle of using the edge of same is equally well adaptable.

1 also show how a simple and complete wickmoving devicecan be applied, no matter what application of burner my improvement may be made to or what style of tube may be em ployed, and, finally, that a provision is made for a simple and complete means of regulating the flame or extinguishing it, and a friction-wheel device by means of which the friction of the wick through the tube may be minimized.

I show a new method of using a wick by burning it along its edge instead of from the 1 end or side, as has been the custom heretofore, and which has several advantages, as can be seen from the foregoing description.

What I claim,'and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a lamp-burner, a curved fiat wicktube having both its ends opening intothe oil-chamber of a lamp and its two flat sides being substantially in the same plane, and having a combustion-opening in its outer edge, substantially as specified.

2. Ina lamp-burner, a curved fiat wicktube having both its ends opening into the oil-chamber of a lamp and its two flat sides being substantially in the same plane, and having a combustion-opening in its outer edge, in combination with a wick-moving de- Vice, substantially as specified.

3. In a lamp-burner, a flat wick-tube provided with a combustion-opening between its ends, and upon its edge, and having a wickmoving mechanism, and adapted to burn a flat wick from its edge, substantially as specified.

York and State of New York, this 4th day of August, A. D. 1896.

WILLIAM BOURKE.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL J. EGAN, M. J. DALTON.

Signed at New York, in the county of New 

